MakeUseOf

I replaced Windows Search with Google's desktop app and stopped opening my browser so much

Pankil Shah — Fri, 08 May 2026 10:01:26 GMT

Most of the time, it’s not the lack of tools that slows us down — it’s the extra steps. Opening a browser, creating a new tab, typing your query, then finally getting to what you actually want to do. Google’s desktop app is built around removing exactly that friction.

This free launcher made my smart TV feel like it should have all along

Pankil Shah — Thu, 07 May 2026 23:00:17 GMT

One of the biggest complaints users have with Google TV is the default home screen. It’s cluttered with ads, suggested content, and distracting sections that constantly compete for your attention. And it’s not something you can easily ignore either. Even when you know what you want to watch, you still have to navigate through all that noise just to get there.

Stop obsessing over Windows 11 HDR — these 5 settings matter way more

Dave Meikleham — Thu, 07 May 2026 22:00:18 GMT

Spoiler: Windows 11 HDR often looks bad for browsing and gaming. That’s largely because Microsoft’s latest OS was primarily designed with SDR in mind. There are so many subpar HDR PC displays in the current market that prioritizing a screen that does justice to High Dynamic Range content on your rig should be far down your list of priorities when picking up a new monitor.

I spent $40 on power tool accessories and they completely changed how I work

Bryan M. Wolfe — Thu, 07 May 2026 21:00:19 GMT

You'll likely drop a lot of cash on the essential power tools themselves, but you don't need to spend a fortune on the accessories. The markup on name-brand drill bits, saw blades, and sanding discs is significant, and for most household and hobby-level tasks, the performance difference between a premium accessory and a budget one is minimal.

Notepad++ has no business being this useful with these 6 plugins

Afam Onyimadu — Thu, 07 May 2026 20:00:17 GMT

Years of using Notepad++ have made me appreciate the text editor even more. It's lightweight, easily extensible, offers advanced text-editing features, and has stuck around even as heavier, more robust editors have come and gone.

I replaced my Android keyboard with this open-source one and it stuck

Oluwademilade Afolabi — Thu, 07 May 2026 19:30:17 GMT

I have never been the sort of person to obsess over keyboard apps. A keyboard is a keyboard, right? Well, Gboard had always sat at the bottom of my screen, auto-correcting my typos and suggesting words with an almost unsettling accuracy. The problem with that unsettling accuracy, it turns out, is exactly that: it's unsettling. Gboard includes a "Share usage statistics" telemetry option, and disabling it is the only way to stop it from transmitting keyboard usage statistics and snippets of your typing to Google's servers.

Your laptop's USB port is probably slower than advertised — here's how to verify it

Gavin Phillips — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:30:18 GMT

USB ports used to be simple. You plugged something in, it worked, and that was about it. But modern laptops are packed with different USB standards, confusing naming schemes, and ports that all look identical despite offering wildly different performance.

Your Android phone might have 12GB of RAM but run slower because of it — this one setting is why

Digvijay Kumar — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:00:17 GMT

You spend good money on a phone with 12GB of RAM, and within a week, apps are reloading when you switch between them. The phone gets warm and transitions stutter for no obvious reason. It doesn't feel like a 12GB device. The reason has nothing to do with the processor or the hardware.

Claude can edit your photos now — and it makes Darktable feel like Lightroom

Yadullah Abidi — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:30:18 GMT

I've been using Adobe Lightroom for as long as I've been taking photos on a DSLR, which is about a decade now. And when you use an Adobe program for as long as I have, the subscription model starts looking a lot like you're being held hostage. Adobe keeps bumping the price up every few years, often at the cost of its more affordable subscription plans, and all you can do is continue to pay up if you want to maintain access to your own photos.

Google defends Chrome’s silent Gemini installs, but doesn’t address the real issue

Dave Schafer — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:29:38 GMT

A 4 GB Chrome file is stirring up quite a bit of controversy. Now, Chrome VP and General Manager Parisa Tabriz has addressed the file — but the company is still ignoring the real issue.